She glanced sideways at her friends, who’d stopped laughing.
“You think they’re going to help you?” I asked, my voice low and cold, now. I nodded to the store we were standing next to. “You think they’re going to stop me when I push your goddamn face through that window?”
She went pale.
I leaned in close. “Say sorry,” I said.
Her mouth moved a few times, trying to form some snarky put-down, but she couldn’t quite get it out. Our faces were close enough to kiss, her eyes huge and terrified. “Sorry,” she whispered at last.
I let go of her bag and leaned back. She gathered her friends and ran. People around us were looking at the scene in horror and then quickly walking away as soon as I turned in their direction.
Aedan’s hand landed on my shoulder. “Well done,” he said sincerely.
I looked at his hand. All I wanted to do was to put my own hand on top of it, and then turn around and kiss him. But I knew, instinctively, that wasn’t on the table. Something had happened, since last night. Something had changed to slingshot us back to how we used to be, before the rooftop. If I pushed him now, I might lose him completely.
“You want to get some breakfast?” he asked.
I nodded sadly.
Breakfast, in a shopping mall food court, might mean bagels or pastries or muffins. Except when you’re a boxer and you needprotein, protein, protein.
I eyed my burger. It was ten in the morning. “The whole thing?” I asked.
“You can leave the bun, if you want.” He passed me a carton of milk.
As we ate, I went through about a thousand different things I could say. And none of them felt like they’d work. I couldn’t believe that this sudden coldness was because he was looking for a way outnow that we’d had sex a couple of times. Not Aedan. He was better than that. So it had to be his past, again.
Last time, I’d pushed him. I wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. So I sat there and ate and talked strategy and how we’d focus on keeping my guard up and pushing forward instead of falling back. And the whole time, all I wanted to do was to lean across the table and kiss him.
That was why I was distracted when I went to empty my tray. I didn’t see the guy coming until he was right up behind me. When I turned around, he was practically touching me.
“Hi,” he said to my chest.
He was a cocky confident son of a bitch, with close-cropped blond hair and a t-shirt that showed off his muscles. He was right in my personal space. I sidestepped, but he moved with me, chuckling as if it was all a big joke.
“What’s your name?” he asked.
I wanted to sayI’m not interestedorNo thanksor maybe justFuck off,but none of them would come out. He was too big and too male. I wasn’t sure what he’d do if I pissed him off. So I just shook my head.
“You don’t have a name?” he asked, as if that was the best joke in the world.
I didn’t know where to look. My eyes were everywhere except on his face, because I didn’t dare provoke him by making eye contact.
He moved in even closer. Close enough that his chest touched my nipples. Just a brush, as if it was accidental, but I saw the smile that said it wasn’t. We were right up against each other, now. We would have looked like lovers, if I hadn’t looked so petrified.Stop this! Can’t you see I’m not enjoying this?But he didn’t notice. Or didn’t care.
“She wants you to leave her alone.” An Irish voice, from just outside my field of view.
The guy barely looked up. “Fuck off.”
I heard the brutal smack of a punch landing and he flew sideways, tumbling six or seven feet through the air before he smashed into a table and chairs, scattering them like bowling pins. People screamed and jumped to their feet. I stared aghast at Aedan ashe lowered his fist. I’d forgotten what happened when he hit someone. Behind the counter, I could see the burger store owner talking frantically into his radio.
“Come on,” I said. “Quick!” And I dragged him out of the food court and towards the exit of the mall. I wanted to hug him for saving me but he looked sullen...almost angry. Why would he be angry atme?
Outside, the storm had finally broken and rain was pelting down—the hard, unforgiving kind that soaks you to the skin in about five seconds flat. Everyone else was huddled inside the doors, waiting for it to pass, but I knew mall security would catch up with us any second. I pulled Aedan outside, into the rain, and ran down the street.
The rain plastered our t-shirts to our bodies. By the time we reached the end of the street, our jeans were soaked through and shining. The rain was coming down fast enough that the sidewalks were awash.
I pulled Aedan into an alley, looking for shelter. At least the rain would put the mall cops off chasing us. We stopped beside some dumpsters. It hit me that I wasn’t out of breath, despite running half a block. All those early-morning runs had paid off.
